


Kabul, December 1979

by AgeOfAlejandro



Series: Avengers in History [1]
Category: Captain America (Movies), Marvel Avengers Movies Universe, The Avengers (2012), captain america: the winter soldier - Fandom
Genre: Domestic, F/M, MCU characters in actual history, history drabbles, murderfluff, soviet invasion of afghanistan
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2012-11-23
Updated: 2012-11-23
Packaged: 2017-11-19 07:47:15
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings, No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 574
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/570877
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/AgeOfAlejandro/pseuds/AgeOfAlejandro
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Yakov and Natasha: surprisingly domestic super assassins in Kabul, in the opening years of the Soviet War in Afghanistan.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Kabul, December 1979

**Author's Note:**

> All info comes from the book, _Ghost Wars_ , which I highly recommend.

"I don't like this," Yakov said, wiping the kitchen counter while Natasha wiped the rooms of their presence.

"Kabul? Afghanistan in general?" she asked from she was crouched behind their bags, folding up their sheets and stuffing them into Yakov's bag to be dealt with later. "Either way, do we know _anyone_ who likes it here?"

"No," Yakov ceded. "But," he waved the dish cloth, "we're going to get bogged down here in Afghanistan. The Americans are turning this into our Vietnam. We should get out. This place is not ready for communism yet."

Natasha was glad they'd swept the place for bugs last night. She shrugged as she stood; he was certainly right - this place was called 'the graveyard of empires' for a reason. "And it won't be for a long time. But the KGB got dragged into this."

"And we go where we're sent, like good little agents."

"Yes," she said, moving to wipe their finger prints from the window they had cracked open last night so Yakov could smoke without annoying her. "We do. And right now that means we stay in Kabul until you can get a clear shot at Amin's head and I can get into his office to see if he's been working with the Americans after all."

"I don't think he has," Yakov opined, washing the crumbs from the counter down the drain with a bucket of water from the bath. "They're working through the Pakistanis and the Saudis, who won't want them to have very much direct contact with the Afghans. They want to control the outcome, if we lose. And we will."

Natasha shrugged again. "Andropov wants Amin dead and he wants the files, if Amin has been stupid enough to record his meetings with the Americans. The sooner we deliver, the sooner we can get out of Kabul."

"I know," Yakov grumbled. "This is a clusterfuck. That's all I'm saying."

"And you're right," Natasha agreed. "But at least we're not here as soldiers. We are almost done. You will kill him and I'll check his files, and then we'll be gone. With the Americans and Saudis shoveling money into the throats of these _basmachi_ , who knows how long the troops will be here?"

Yakov made a disparaging sound and wiped his prints off the bucket before sticking it under the sink with the rag. "They'll be here until we bleed white. If this keeps up, we'll be back, mark my words, and it'll be much worse then than it is now."

Natasha sighed, scooping up his cigarette butts and moving toward the bathroom to flush them. "I know. But stop complaining and kill him so we can get out of here."

"We need you to get in first," he said, following her to the bathroom. "Unless you get in first and go through his papers, me killing him would be counter-productive. They'll just lock all his shit up."

"Yes," she agreed, washing the ashes from her hands. "My contact is probably going to give today. He doesn't like this--"

"But he _does_ like you?" Yakov asked, leaning in and kissing her.

She hummed in agreement and pulled away. "Yes, yes he does."

"Will we have to kill him afterward?"

Natasha tilted her head as she dried her hands. "Mmm, no. I don't think so."

"Good," Yakov said, taking her place at the sink. "The sooner we get out of here--"

"The better," Natasha agreed. 

**Author's Note:**

> Yuri Andropov oversaw KGB foreign covert operations and later became the general secretary of the Soviet party (and you can read more about him here: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Yuri_Andropov)
> 
> Haifizullah Amin was the president of the Democratic Republic of Afghanistan from September to December of 1979. The Soviets were unhappy with him and planted rumors that he was working with the CIA and he proceeded to act in such a way that they freaked out for a while and thought he WAS working with the Americans. He was assassinated by them in, obvs, December 1979 (although, because the KGB did not actually have Bucky, they were unable to take him out with a sniper (or poison) and had to physically storm his palace).
> 
>  _Basmachi_ was a term the Soviets used to describe Muslim rebels in Central Asia who (unsuccessfully) tried to resist Soviet rule after the Bolshevik Revolution in 1917.


End file.
